Intellectual Property Law

Obama Fan Strikes OutCounterfeit Chic

He built it, and they came.  Now the Obama supporter who developed a line of t-shirts based on baseball team logos has been forced to dismantle his website, ObamaofDreams.com, at the objection of Major League Baseball. 

While typefaces themselves are not protected by copyright, their use is frequently an essential trademark element.  MLB apparently claimed that Morris Levin's deliberate invocation of the nation's pastime, combined with his use of copycat lettering and color combinations, constituted trademark infringement.  And, as the Smoking Gun noted, even Hillary's official favorite teams -- the Yankees and the Cubs -- were Obamized. 

A word of advice to Levin:  Consider combining a JD with that Wharton MBA you're pursuing.  And don't mess with major league lawyers, unless you're looking for a bench-clearing brawl.   

Full post as published by IP Law Daily on March 18, 2008 (boomark / email).